Welcome to 2012!

Only a few short days ago we celebrated the start of a brand-new year.  As the eye-catching, light-covered ball drops in New York City to welcome in January 1^st every year we feel it is a fresh start.  We all cheer for brighter days, bigger accomplishments and happier endings.  We make lists of all the things we are going to change about ourselves and our lives. The possibilities are limitless and you are certain that you are going to fulfill your pledge to read a book a week, take off the extra weight and land that big account.  This is all well and good at midnight on January 1^st.  But today it is January 5^th, which has brought a return to the work week after a hedonistic holiday season.  You remember why it was you never wanted to get out of bed to hit the gym at 6am in January; it is so cold that you can’t feel your toes.  You keep meaning to pick up Crime and Punishment, but the new episode of Survivor will be on and after a long day at work reading Russian novels can be taxing.  And what about that big account…have you made that first phone call yet?  The truth is that life comes with obstacles.  How we handle those obstacles and objections will determine whether or not we are able to ever reach success.

There are those who are intimidated by the sales profession because they are convinced that it is full of rejection and obstacles.  This is only partly true.  You are going to face objections, but these can be looked at as challenges rather than stumbling blocks.  Once you have become comfortable handling objections, you will find that there is really very little to be intimidated about.

An objection is simply anything that a potential customer may say or do that would inhibit the closing of a deal.  It may be concerns about costs, the product, or the partnership.  It might be because they are already comfortable with the status quo and aren’t certain they are interested in change.  It may be that they like what both your company and product have to offer, but they struggle with making decisions and tend to waffle back and forth.  It may be that they simply want to be certain that they have all the information and want to know how deep your own knowledge base is.  Whatever form the objection may take and whatever reason is behind it, the first thing you should be aware of is that an objection does not equal a failure.  Some experts have said that possible clients who end up making purchases have, on average, 58% more objections than those who don’t buy. 

Over the next few weeks we’ll talk about different types of objections and possible strategies for how to handle them.  Since a sale is truly about building relationships, there are no pat answers that will work in every situation.  Much of dealing with these issues will come from individualized responses to individualized circumstances, but there are some general tips that can help you meet these challenges.  The first important thing to remember about sales, however, is that while they will come with obstacles (like those familiar New Year’s Resolutions) it still possible to successfully close those important deals. So keep working towards that big account (and stop hitting “snooze” on your alarm). The year is young and the possibilities are endless.